What is this team's future?

[shut_the_gate]

What happened to Ainge and his front office this offseason was a massive blow for essentially 7 years of work. Losing Irving, Horford, Davis and Baynes is a massive hit and would have crippled most teams but the Celtics have done amazingly to patch together a competitive roster, but IMO this teams ceiling is only that...competitive.

If you look at every NBA championship team, minus Detroit in 2004 and Toronto last season, every winner in history has had a former, or current MVP on it.

Can you see any MVP's on this roster? For me it's no, so I am curious what everyone thinks is the Celtics plan in the future to make this team into a contender? What do you want?

[Celtics4ever]

I think we are going to have build around Tatum and Brown.   Everyone else is expendable in my eyes.

I am beginning to think that we are not a contender this year.   I know we hear the " we have not been healthy all year" stuff and we have had some real quality wins but do folks think we could beat a quality top level team in a seven game series?   I have my doubts.

Ainge seems to fall in love with our guys.  I think our draft was so-so but the jury is still out.  That being said, I am a Celtic Fan if we are good or bad and I am with the team no matter what.

[Csfan1984]

I think it's not about titles any more for all teams. It's all about business, putting out an entertaining product.

This team could win a title if they get injury luck like Raps got and boost their bench. Currently without those two things we are middle of the pack as far as title contenders.

Long term you have to be concerned as we could lose Hayward and not have any good trade assets to build around Walker, Tatum, and Brown. This deadline is important to the future of the club.

[Walker Wiggle]

Let me break this down and let's see if you feel any better.

The Celtics have:

- A 21-year-old who is already an all-star and has the capacity to be one of the top two-way players in the league, and an outside shot at MVP one day. Probably under team control for the next six years.
- A 23-year-old who is already playing at an all-star level, has limitless athletic ability and a famously intense work ethic. Under team control for the next four years.
- An all-NBA scoring guard in his prime who was just named a starter in the all-star game. Under team control for the next 2-3 years.
- Young talent which includes a late lottery pick wing from this past summer (19 years old) and a supremely talented big with injury questions (22 years old), as well as a bunch of other young players that may or may not pan out.
- A sixth man who was first team all-NBA defense last year and is still only 25 years old. Under control for another two years.
- A 29-year old former Western Conference All-Star with foot problems who is still averaging 17-6-4 on good efficiency. Possible he walks this summer but there's a lot of goodwill between him and the coach/organization for something to be worked out.
- Plenty of draft capital including (probably) three first round picks this summer, including (probably) another late lottery pick.
- One of the best coaches in the league.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

I must have been sleeping when Anthony Davis was wearing a Celtics jersey.

[LilRip]

Kemba is an amazing player. Imo he can bring a team to a championship as a team’s best player. Then you have the Jays, both of who seem to be on the path to stardom. If I were DA, I view these 3 as my real core. Yes, many of us love Smart and some have a soft spot for GH but as cold as it sounds, they’re pieces you fit around your stars.

To answer the OP, this team isn’t contending until Tatum is ready. Kemba’s already there but he needs a Tatum to really bring this team home. Hopefully that’s next year. But to help him make that leap, FO needs to take a step back and think about how to best maximize his talents.

[Moranis]

This current team will probably win a playoff series, maybe 2, but won't make the NBA Finals. 

[LilRip]

This current team will probably win a playoff series, maybe 2, but won't make the NBA Finals.

Maybe my standards are low but I’d be very happy with 2 series wins. Hopefully we don’t get Philly in the 2nd round.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Most likely? We win one playoff series or two this year.

However, I think this team's play style and unique 3-wing have the potential to win a championship this year. The chances might be small, but if they can gel going into the playoffs, I like our chances against anyone.

And, this team is the youngest team in the NBA. The future is pretty bright when you are talking about a possible Eastern Conference finalist with an outside chance to win the championship.

To become a contending force, we need Tatum to get better on offense and Brown to get better on defense. We need Hayward and Walker to stay healthy. And we need Williams/Williams or some other player to show they can play rotational minutes in big games and not lose their matchup.

[GreenFaith1819]

Let me break this down and let's see if you feel any better.

The Celtics have:

- A 21-year-old who is already an all-star and has the capacity to be one of the top two-way players in the league, and an outside shot at MVP one day. Probably under team control for the next six years.
- A 23-year-old who is already playing at an all-star level, has limitless athletic ability and a famously intense work ethic. Under team control for the next four years.
- An all-NBA scoring guard in his prime who was just named a starter in the all-star game. Under team control for the next 2-3 years.
- Young talent which includes a late lottery pick wing from this past summer (19 years old) and a supremely talented big with injury questions (22 years old), as well as a bunch of other young players that may or may not pan out.
- A sixth man who was first team all-NBA defense last year and is still only 25 years old. Under control for another two years.
- A 29-year old former Western Conference All-Star with foot problems who is still averaging 17-6-4 on good efficiency. Possible he walks this summer but there's a lot of goodwill between him and the coach/organization for something to be worked out.
- Plenty of draft capital including (probably) three first round picks this summer, including (probably) another late lottery pick.
- One of the best coaches in the league.

All this, plus -

One of our main rivals has a Big that  - while talented - I doubt can play an entire series. This team (76ers) also has suspect shooting....

Our other rival, MIL - we've already beaten this year. We ALMOST beat them recently - without JB - but GH had a bad shooting night.

We are RIGHT THERE, despite it all. That is all you can ask for. Danny Ainge and CBS are among the best.

[PhoSita]

Jay & Jay & Brad Stevens.


That's the future.


Two All-Star caliber, two-way, younger-than-24 wings.

A young, playoff-proven head coach with a particular knack for turning misfit toys into useful role players, and also one of the best in the business at drawing up plays.


Forget everything else -- that's all you really need to focus on.




Those ingredients aren't enough to guarantee a championship.  How many teams in the league can say they have the sufficient ingredients for a championship on hand?  How many of those that can are able to say they will have those ingredients in place for the next 4-5 years or more?


The Celts are in an enviable position.  I'm excited to see what Ainge & Co. are able to do and I am optimistic that the next 5+ years of Celtics basketball will be exciting, whether or not the team wins a title.

[ETNCeltics]

What happened to Ainge and his front office this offseason was a massive blow for essentially 7 years of work. Losing Irving, Horford, Davis and Baynes is a massive hit and would have crippled most teams but the Celtics have done amazingly to patch together a competitive roster, but IMO this teams ceiling is only that...competitive.

If you look at every NBA championship team, minus Detroit in 2004 and Toronto last season, every winner in history has had a former, or current MVP on it.

Can you see any MVP's on this roster? For me it's no, so I am curious what everyone thinks is the Celtics plan in the future to make this team into a contender? What do you want?

IMO, the Celtics have a potential future MVP on their roster.

I don't think Ainge put all his eggs in the AD basket as many have asserted, any reasonable person could've seen from the start that even at best, the odds were against us getting one specific player like that.

Is Houston a real contender? IMO, the Celtics odds this year are better than Houston's, and Houston has 2 of those guys. Toss them and Derrick Rose out, and you're down to 4 guys, one of whom is nearing the end of his run, and 3 who we have no way of obtaining.

The Celtics plan is Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, coached by Brad Stevens. Will that - accompanied by a solid supporting cast - be enough? No one can say. We have no idea how good J&J are going to be. The early returns are certainly encouraging for anyone who isn't totally unreasonable. When I look at where other mvp-caliber players like Kawhi and Butler were at the stage of their career that J&J are at now, I'm psyched about the Celtics' future. They're not all-league locks like Lebron and Durant were at their age, but Tatum is probably going to be an all-star at age 21, when he isn't even the first option. I don't see how anyone can't be encouraged by that.

[Moranis]

What happened to Ainge and his front office this offseason was a massive blow for essentially 7 years of work. Losing Irving, Horford, Davis and Baynes is a massive hit and would have crippled most teams but the Celtics have done amazingly to patch together a competitive roster, but IMO this teams ceiling is only that...competitive.

If you look at every NBA championship team, minus Detroit in 2004 and Toronto last season, every winner in history has had a former, or current MVP on it.

Can you see any MVP's on this roster? For me it's no, so I am curious what everyone thinks is the Celtics plan in the future to make this team into a contender? What do you want?

IMO, the Celtics have a potential future MVP on their roster.

I don't think Ainge put all his eggs in the AD basket as many have asserted, any reasonable person could've seen from the start that even at best, the odds were against us getting one specific player like that.

Is Houston a real contender? IMO, the Celtics odds this year are better than Houston's, and Houston has 2 of those guys. Toss them and Derrick Rose out, and you're down to 4 guys, one of whom is nearing the end of his run, and 3 who we have no way of obtaining.

The Celtics plan is Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, coached by Brad Stevens. Will that - accompanied by a solid supporting cast - be enough? No one can say. We have no idea how good J&J are going to be. The early returns are certainly encouraging for anyone who isn't totally unreasonable. When I look at where other mvp-caliber players like Kawhi and Butler were at the stage of their career that J&J are at now, I'm psyched about the Celtics' future. They're not all-league locks like Lebron and Durant were at their age, but Tatum is probably going to be an all-star at age 21, when he isn't even the first option. I don't see how anyone can't be encouraged by that.

The thing is, if that really is the championship plan, then Ainge should be making moves now that fit that timeline.  That includes trading vets to acquire pieces that better fit with the Tatum/Brown timeline. 

If Ainge has a failure, that is it.  He keeps trying to win now, while also building for the future and may be sacrificing both to do it.  He is probably already past the point when he realistically needed to decide to go for it now or build around the J's, but the longer he waits the worse it gets.  This will he or won't he type stuff is detrimental.  That is why the trade for Irving, without doing anything else, was such a disaster.  If you trade for Irving, you have to go all in, and Ainge never did that. 

[PhoSita]

If Ainge has a failure, that is it.  He keeps trying to win now, while also building for the future and may be sacrificing both to do it. 

I disagree.

I think one of the keys to winning a title, unless you have a clear cut top 2-3 player in the league, is to give yourself many chances to make a deep run and be in the Finals with a chance to win.


The example I always think of is the Mavericks with Nowitzki.  They were knocking on the door for a decade, basically, before they finally broke through in 2011. 


My feeling is that if you can have a team that is capable of being elite (top 5) on both ends, then you have a chance at a title.  You should try to extend the window that your team can be at that level of competitiveness for as long as possible.


All of that said, I won't argue that Ainge has always struck the perfect balance.  I just disagree with the notion that if the team sees Jayson & Jaylen as the core and thinks the roster is likely to peak several years from now, that means they ought to abandon any efforts to make a run this year or next.

[Fafnir]

He didn't not go all in with Irving, Irving just left so that meant trading Tatum for Davis would have been a fool's errand.

I mean he let Horford walk. I think that's a sign of what he wants to build towards. I think the real fork in the road is Hayward and what happens with his deal and potential FA.